Settings to get good resolutions when ripping movies

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boxterduke

Gawd
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Oct 20, 2006
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Hey guys, I'm getting a new LCD TV towards the end of summer and already got a computer that I can stick behind it for internet browsing/some gaming (guild wars :)) and playing movies.

I started ripping the movies I have using Magic DVD Ripper but even if I choose the highest quality they still don't look all that good on my computer monitor so I'm thinking they won't look good on a 40 or 42 inch LCD TV.

Any ideas or what settings I can use.

Thanks
 
Try DVDShrink at some point, make sure to adjust the settings to do Deep Analysis for the movie and then encode to the Sharpest quality (maximum sharpness). That should work nicely, unless you're planning to do AVI re-encodes, and that's a whole different aspect of DVD ripping.

www.doom9.org or www.videohelp.com are great resources for all the info about DVD ripping you'd ever hope to find.
 
you can easily fit 90-100 DVD's on a 500gb drive without encoding them. look into x.264 encoders like handbrake if you want to encode them
 
I recommed hardbrake

Also, you can use MP4 @ 1.3Mbps without loosing toomuch quality.
 
Thanks for the input guys. The thing I want to do is to rip to a format that is just a file not the VIDEO TS folder and such (I have DVDshrink and also tried DVDFab HD Decrypter) and thats what they do.

I just downloaded handbrake as advised above, what settings do you guys use that gives you good quality without taking huge space of hard drive.
 
I tried Handbrake, and it worked well. But I finally settled on using StaxRip. I found it in a forum here, maybe the HTPC forums... Check out the guide here: http://www.digital-digest.com/articles/staxrip_h264_page1.html

I don't really know if Handbrake is better than staxrip, or vice versa. I just liked StaxRip. The interface is a bit different, but once you get the hang of it, it works well.
 
boxterduke said:
Thanks for the input guys. The thing I want to do is to rip to a format that is just a file not the VIDEO TS folder and such (I have DVDshrink and also tried DVDFab HD Decrypter) and thats what they do.

I just downloaded handbrake as advised above, what settings do you guys use that gives you good quality without taking huge space of hard drive.
Click to expand...

Then you're looking to convert the VOB format files from the DVD to some other format like DivX or XviD (basically the same thing) perhaps, maybe h.264 or x.264 (basically the same thing as well). If that's the case then you're going to have to re-encode the VOB files from the DVD content (native MPEG2) down to something else with a converter like MediaCoder, Super, handbrake, that other one just mentioned, WinAVI, etc.

There are literally hundreds of different types of converters out there nowadays, you'll just have to try a few and find out which one works the best for you and provides the best quality that you're happy with.
 
Nielo TM said:
I recommed hardbrake

Also, you can use MP4 @ 1.3Mbps without loosing toomuch quality.
Click to expand...
++

I do 2 pass MPEG-4 AVC encoding @ 1.6Mbps using Nero Recode (easy to use and reliable, no science project feel) and the results are very good on my 42" HDTV. I still wouldn't give up DVDs, but it is nice to have around 200 movies on a 320GB hard drive in decent quality.
 
Thanks for the help guys.

An update, I used handbrake to rip a movie and it went into an m4v or mpeg-4 format but I'm not able to play it in VLC nor quick time. what gives?
 
Maybe I'm just old fashioned but I like DVD Decrypter for ripping and VirtualDubMod or MEGUI/AVISynth for encoding xvid or x264
 
Ok hadbrake is not working at all.
I tried it using h.264/mpeg4/xvid and none of the produced files are able to play.

h.264 encoding with .m4v or .mp4 file extension is not recognized by quick time/vlc/media player/real player

mpeg4 and xvid encoding produce a file that gets played in quick time and vlc but its distorted and scrambeled.

Also hadbrake is not able to ready some dvds, I get a message to insert a none copy protected dvd.

any ideas

thanks for the help.
 
boxterduke said:
Ok hadbrake is not working at all.
I tried it using h.264/mpeg4/xvid and none of the produced files are able to play.

h.264 encoding with .m4v or .mp4 file extension is not recognized by quick time/vlc/media player/real player

mpeg4 and xvid encoding produce a file that gets played in quick time and vlc but its distorted and scrambeled.

Also hadbrake is not able to ready some dvds, I get a message to insert a none copy protected dvd.

any ideas

thanks for the help.
Click to expand...

You have to decrypt DVDs using DVD Decryptor first.

Also, select one of the preset mods on the left. If you still can't play it, change .mp4 to .mov
 
Demon10000 said:
http://www.digital-digest.com/articl...264_page1.html
Give StaxRip a shot. There's a guide to do exactly what you're looking to do. You'll need to rip it with some tool, but I believe thats the same with Handbrake....
Click to expand...
I'll try it this weekend and report back.
Nielo TM said:
You have to decrypt DVDs using DVD Decryptor first.
Also, select one of the preset mods on the left. If you still can't play it, change .mp4 to .mov
Click to expand...
That's what I do and its not working. I even downloaded xvid codecs, updated quick time and divx and tried again and same results.
Someone said that autogk might work better in vista than handbrake, I will try also this weekend.
Joe Average said:
unless you're planning to do AVI re-encodes, and that's a whole different aspect of DVD ripping.
Click to expand...
Also I'm a complete noob when it comes to lingo, what I meant by ripping is actually putting a dvd in the drive and then use a program to convert to avi or divx etc. I guess what I mean to say is encode or convert as these are the terms I see used in doom9.org and other places.
Would 123 DVD converter been a good example, a friend of mine has it and he tells me that it looks good on his 42 inch lcd tv (he is using 640x480) , I still have to go to his house and check it out.
If anyone is using it, what good reolution setting should I select to get a wide screen aspect on my future 42 inch lcd
 
The term "ripping" gets used basically to mean taking DVD content and turning it into something else, not just copying the content to a storage device (decrypted, of course, if it was originally encrypted). When I personally say "rip a DVD" I always make sure to say "rip a DVD to the hard drive..." and continue on from there. I know that DVDShrink can back up my DVDs by just reading them directly off the DVD itself in the drive, but that takes 10x longer to do (even with my Plextor 18x with SpeedRead enabled) than the process of "rip the DVD to the hard drive" and then crunch it from there.

I still haven't seen a solid answer regarding what you want to end up with because just saying some other format isn't an answer. You can convert the DVD content to anything these days: DivX, XviD, 3gp, QuickTime, h.264, MPEG1, etc etc... what specifically do you want to end up with in terms of the final file format, and then you can choose which program to use for the end result. AVI being a container format, as well as MKV and OGM, etc all leave you with secondary decisions to figure out which compression you want for the audio and video streams, so it's not as simple as "I want to rip my DVDs, how do I do it?"

If you want the best possible quality with the smallest possible files for current retail DVD files (not HD-DVD or Blu-Ray media) then I would say XviD using mp3 audio would be the best solution. DivX is ok, but I think - that means a personal opinion here - that XviD comes in with slightly better image quality and slightly smaller filesizes if you chose the same encoding options or at least tried to equate the encoding settings the same between XviD and DivX.

If you want HD-DVD or Blu-Ray content, because of their increased native resolution, h.264 or x.264 has the edge these days over DivX/XviD although those two codecs can do a pretty good job as well, you'll just end up with larger files for the same level of quality. Quality is where the biggest issue lies as what looks good to one person might look like absolute pixelated shit to someone else.

What matters in the long run is what you want, obviously. Once you figure that out and state it specifically, then it becomes a goal and achievable. Until then, it's just a guessing game where people will keep throwing general suggestions in your general direction. :)
 
Thanks for the reply Joe.

Let me summarize quickly what I do to "rip a DVD to the hard drive"
I insert the DVD.
Start Magic DVD Ripper
Select divx and start ripping.
The produced divx file is not that clear and you can see shadows around people's bodies and squares in dark or night scenes.

A friend of mine uses 123 DVD Converter.
I gave it a go and the files are much better than Magic DVD Ripper

========================================================

Now when I was doing research I noticed h.264 format and decided to give it a go but its just not working. The produced m4v file or mp4 does not get played in quick time and vlc.
I tried xvid avi but the produced file is just scrambled in both vlc and media player.

I installed all the codecs I can, xvid, divx, updated quicktime, vlc etc. Using Vista btw.
I was told to Decrypt the dvd first and then use handbrake and see the results and that's what I will do tonight.

What confuses me is how come no one suggested programs like 123 DVD Converter, magic dvd ripper (they work even if the DVD is encrypted). Are they because they give crap quality and is it better to decrypt the dvd on the hard drive first and then use the files to create an avi/divx/h.264 etc?
 
Update on this.
I put in the DVD, use DVD Decryter and the AutoGK to get a divx avi and it looks great. (thats what I wanted)

The one thing that is not working is handbrake with divx or h.264 not sure why, I'm doing this on Vista so I will try with XP and see if it works since I heared handbrake might have an issue with Vista.
 
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